The IeDEA Cameroon team’s commitment to ensure strict adherence to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and high data quality standards prompted the organisation of this 3-day refresher training to its old and new staff at the Limbe Regional Hospital (LRH) site. The training took place from 23rd to 25th September 2020. The aim was to update and refresh the knowledge and practices of old staff and to adequately train the new staff. It was also an opportunity to discuss better ways to attain the study’s objectives, troubleshoot and ensure a smooth implementation of the study protocol and SOPs at the site.
Day one
The training began with a welcome message, presentation of training objectives, CRENC core values and administration of a pre-test to the training participants. The first presentation was on GCP, made by Dr Ajeh Rogers. The presentation covered GCP guidelines spanning from research study design, through implementation, analysis of results to reporting. The presentations overall aim was to ensure that the site staff adhere to the international standards set for carrying out research, the same standard implemented in every other IeDEA sites in the seven regions of the world where the IeDEA study is implemented.
More emphasis was laid on the three basic principles of research ethics (autonomy, beneficence and justice) and how they translate to daily research conduct practice. It was followed by an open general discussion and Q&A session about the application of the discussed principles.
The session ended with a role play on consent administration.
Day two
The second day started with a presentation on conducting structured interviews. Stressed during the presentation, was the importance of the validity of information collected from study participants during interviews. The presentation covered how to administer a structured questionnaire, how to get accurate information from a study participant, keys to being a good interviewer among others. The session ended with a role play on patient interviews and a post-test administration.
Day three.
The third day was mostly focused around Paediatric data collection. A presentation was made on the pediatric data collection tools; the enrollment and visit forms, SOPs and assent and consent forms. The registers for pediatric data collection were also reviewed and a thorough assessment of site-specific logistics was made. The newly recruited staff were the main targets for this training.
To recap everything, another presentation on GCP tips was given by Dr Ajeh, followed by an open discussion and Q&As on everything discussed during the 3-day training.
The last session of the day was a meeting including the IeDEA central staff led by Prof Anastase Dzudie, the administration of the LRH led by the Director, Dr Kinge Thompson and LRH IeDEA site staff. The Director expressed his satisfaction with the project leadership and site staff. He also encouraged the research staff to do their work judiciously and with all enthusiasm. Prof Dzudie also thanked the staff for their immense hard work and encouraged them to work even harder to achieve maximum data quality and project goals.
All site staff were asked to complete the GCP training from the Albert Einstein University website and submit their certificates to Dr Ajeh.
The meeting ended with a dinner.
Facilitators and trainers: Prof Anastase Dzudie, Dr Ajeh Rogers and Dr Ebasone Peter
